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Monthly Archives: October 2014

The day started out with a light drizzle and a chill, but soon became the perfect Fall day for this year’s Greenwood Fall Festival sponsored by the Greenwood EE Club. The activities, parade, games, silent auction and vendors displaying their crafts, were enjoyed by children and adults alike. The money the club raised will go a long way to help support many local organizations in the Greenwood area.

Craig Trynka hammering out his bar shoe for the Eagle Eye Class at the 34th Annual TPFA Contest at the North Texas State Fairgrounds in Denton, TX Friday morning. The contestants got one look at a shoe, then 20 minutes to duplicate it. Craig was one of the farriers choosing to go old school utilizing coal while others used propane furnaces to produce the kind of heat needed to turn a piece of strap steel into a horseshoe. The sound of hammers and heat from the forges filled the air as each competitor relied on quick hands and a steady eye to recreate the shoe they had viewed.

Stick Insects or Pasmids (Phasmatidea) include 2,700 known insect species. It is always a treat to find one hanging around the yard lying in wait for unsuspecting prey to fall for their disguise. A Stick Insect in Borneo holds the record for longest insect at 22 inches.

A Praying Mantis is easier to find in the yard, but still cool.

Its vibrant yellow helped a Mayfly (Hexagenia) stand out as it clung to the house in the early morning sun. Fly fishermen can tie very realistic replicas of this insect.

If you can find insects, you can often find a frog. I found a Gray Tree Frog on top of my fire box when I removed the cover to the grill. They can change their color to match different environments, so we find them in many different shades of gray and green.